The creation of the Department of Administration and Fiscal Control (DAFC) in 1971 by the enactment of Chapter 203, Session Laws of Wyoming, combined under one director several administrative functions which had previously been performed by separate state agencies. The department was empowered to assist the governor in improving management techniques to coordinate and provide services used by more than one agency, to review agency programs, and to establish uniform standards of administration. The governor was charged by the act to appoint the director of the department and to approve the director's appointments of division administrators. The department consisted of seven divisions: Budget, Purchasing and Property Control, Central Services, Data Services, Personnel, Research and Statistics, and Telecommunications.

The Budget Division was assigned the duties of the Assistant Budget Officer, and office which had been established in 1925. The act required the Budget Division to: prepare the state's budget, to develop the form of and procedure for budget documents, consult with agencies requiring legislative appropriations, prepare standard budget estimates, transmit a standard budget and manual of instruction to each agency, and cooperatively with the Personnel Division review, control and approve personnel transactions.

The Purchasing and Property Control Division, established by the 1971 act, succeeded the Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, the Board of State Supplies, and the Surplus Property Agency. The division was responsible for: acquiring and maintaining state property, establishing and keeping an inventory of all property purchased totally or in part with state funds, classifying property in uniform categories, supervising and approving the disposition of useless property, and storing materials and equipment.

By 1990, the Purchasing and Property Control Division was organized into four sections. The Purchasing Section issued invitations for bids, requests for proposals, and solicited prices and quotations for purchases by state agencies. The Insurance and Inventory Section addressed the insurance needs of the state, and maintained an inventory of all state-owned property, except for property owned by the University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Highway Department. The self-sustaining Supply System Warehouse Section sold office supplies, janitorial supplies, and furniture to state government agencies. The self-sustaining Surplus Property Section maintained an inventory of both federal and state surplus property and provided for fair and equitable distribution of the property.

The Personnel Division replaced the Personnel Commission, established in 1957. The 1971 act creating DAFC and the Personnel Division implemented functions considerably expanded beyond those of the commission. The functions assigned by the law included: developing and administering uniform personnel policies, procedures and educational programs, assisting and advising the governor, agency director and administrators, employees, and the public regarding the practice of lawful and equitable personnel procedures and practices, and collecting and disseminating employment information for use by state government and the public. The Personnel Division was divided into four sections: Administration, Selection, Classification and Compensation, and Training and Development. During the 1989 and 1990, the division focused on the development of a personnel performance appraisal system throughout state government.

The duties of the Central Services Division of DAFC, as defined by the 1971 statue, were to maintain, repair and replace all state properties, provide central reproduction, printing and other duplication services, initiate a central mail service and allied services, consolidate into a single payment charges made against the agencies, and supervise and manage a central telecommunications system. In 1977, the functions of the Central Service Division were expanded to include providing security services for the capitol complex, to maintain and repair office machines owned by state agencies, and to designate a representative to serve as secretary to the Capitol Building Commission (CBC) "...who will administratively implement the commission's decisions." The administrator of the division was named the representative to the commission, and in 1981, the Central Services Division was authorized to lease property for the state, provided, if the lease was for more than $5,000, the CBC approved.

In 1989, a major revision in the organization of DAFC affected the Central Services Division. The 1977 act had established the Motor Vehicle Management Services Division in the department to develop standards and specification for the purchase, lease, replacement, repair, management and operation of vehicles for state government use. The 1989 law placed motor vehicle management under the Central Services Division. Although the division gained one function as a result of the law, it lost two other functions which it had previously been assigned. A telecommunication division, rather than a section within Central Services, was created and the capitol complex security function was reassigned to the Division of Criminal Investigation in the Office of the Attorney General.

As of 1990, the Telecommunications Division interacted with the Telecommunications Advisory Council to establish rules and regulations for telecommunications usage in state government and to develop recommendations for the telecommunications transport plan. Other responsibilities for the division included: planning and coordinating the telecommunications transport service network, establishing procedures, standards, and records for networks, providing telecommunications services, insuring compliance with federal government and state regulations, and coordinating telecommunications training for state government employees. A 1980 law, additionally assigned the administrator of telecommunications the functions of advising the State Agency Law Enforcement Communications System (SALECS) Commission and managing funds appropriated for the commission.

The Centralized Accounting and Computer Services Division was an original division in DAFC as organized in 1971. The division was charged with fulfilling the responsibilities previously discharged by Centralized Accounting and Data Processing. The division's name was changed to the Centralized Accounting and Computer Services Division in 1977. By law, the division was assigned the following duties: develop and provide computer and data processing to all state government agencies, excepting the University of Wyoming and the community colleges, provide for uniform standards for data processing equipment, techniques and services among state agencies, approve the purchase and installation of all computer and data processing equipment, data processing personnel and software systems, and develop priorities for data processing services needs, so as to implement a unified system of information management. The Data Services Division's stated goals in 1989 were: minimizing information systems and data processing costs, maximizing equipment usage and personnel resources, improving client communications, increasing the awareness of benefits received from information technology, and fostering standardization and systems compatibility within state government.

The Division of Research and Statistics was another original division within DAFC. The 1971 creating act specified seven duties for the division: provide assistance to state government agencies in developing statistical and information management programs, provide overall supervisory and coordinating authority for statistical, information or research programs coordinated by state agencies, conduct statistical research and studies on its own authority, establish criteria for collecting, distributing, compiling, reporting, and analyzing statistics and information generated by state government agencies, maintain a depository of statistical and other information pertinent to the operation of state government, consolidate information and reports into digest form, and publish a catalog annually listing the statistical information available from state government and other resources.

During the general reorganization plan for state government undertaken in 1991, a majority of DAFC's duties were assigned to the newly created Department of Administration and Information.